Two of the Royal Navy’s minor war vessels have made visits to their namesake towns.

Mine countermeasures vessel HMS Dulverton could not physically make the trip to her ‘home town’ in Devon, but members of the ship’s company made the journey – their first time there for four years.

Dulverton Town councillor Chris Nelder and the ship’s sponsor Mrs Edna Jaffrey were invited on board the Hunt-class vessel for a cocktail party – and again it was Mrs Jarffray’s first time on board in almost four years.

Meanwhile a work party from the ship – which can hunt individual mines using sonar and sweep and area of sea using a range of devices – headed to the town on the southern edge of Exmoor to paint the Royal British Legion and carry out some gardening in the residential home.

An impromptu charity auction raised £600 for an ECG machine which was needed by a local surgery.

Over the course of the weekend, members of the ship’s company were hosted by families in the town and offered a range of country pursuits, including clay pigeon shooting, fishing, riding, golf and following the Dulverton Farmers Hunt.

The visit ended with a full house at All Saints Church and a reception at the Royal British Legion.

Following the visit, Dulverton’s next official duty was in the Channel Islands, when she berthed at St Helier in Jersey for a five-day ‘fly-the-flag’ session.

A number of family members of the ship’s company also flew out to join in the events.

And a fair wind helped the MCMV on her way back up the west coast to Clyde Naval Base at Faslane, in Scotland, from where she will resume her duties after Easter leave.

Sandown-class minehunter HMS Ramsey had been conducting route survey operations off the west coast of the UK when she visited Ramsey, in the north of the Isle of Man.

Despite her modest size, the minehunter was still just too large to berth at Ramsey itself, and instead spent the visit just to the south at Douglas.

A busy programme had been laid on, including Ship Open to Visitors, a rededication ceremony at the Royal Naval Association, and a football match against a local Ramsey side.

The ship’s company was hosted at a reception at Ramsey Town Hall, where sailors and officers made clear their appreciation for the welfare packages they received from the town when the ship was deployed to the Gulf last year.

“It really has been a most successful visit,” said Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Tony Watt.

“Everyone the ship’s company has come into contact with has been positively interested in our presence.

“The warmth and enthusiastic reception received throughout the island and especially in Ramsey marked it out as a very special place for HMS Ramsey to have her second home.”

The ship is currently helping the Navy update its hydrographic records to help the UK Hydrographic Office at Taunton – particularly looking at the waterways which are essential for keeping trade and communications routes open at times of conflict or emergency.

Navigating Officer Lt Matt Fairclough-Kay said: “The work involves mapping the sea bed, exploring sonar contacts and taking measurements of environmental conditions.

“By creating this picture of the sea bed, the task of finding mines at a later date becomes that much quicker, because if we know what is there now, we’ll know what shouldn’t be there later …”